On Monday, European stock markets experienced declines as stocks linked to artificial intelligence faced selling pressure amid uncertainties about U.S. dominance in the technology sector. Investors were also processing disappointing economic figures from China and anticipated the upcoming interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.7% to 526.62, following a minor decline at the close on Friday. Germany's DAX index dropped 1.3%, despite an increase in the German IFO Business Climate Index, which rose to 85.1 in January from 84.7 in December. Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 decreased by 0.9%, and the UK's FTSE 100 saw a reduction of 0.2%.
Shares of ASML, a prominent chip equipment maker, declined by nearly 2% after Chinese startup DeepSeek’s AI Assistant surpassed ChatGPT, becoming the most popular free app on Apple’s App Store in the US. Siemens Energy, known for its broad range of products from gas turbines to power network equipment, saw its shares plummet by 19%.
Conversely, Ryanair shares rose by 3.5% following the release of quarterly earnings that exceeded market expectations. Additionally, British American Tobacco saw a surge of nearly 4% after the Trump administration decided to pull back on its proposal to ban menthol cigarettes in the United States.
